Entourage: "Tequila and Coke" Review

Vince hits a downward spiral while Billy Walsh bounces back.

Entourage's latest episode was proof that the show can work even when it's not all that funny. "Tequila and Coke" managed to hit the mark by upping the dramatic stakes and pushing Vince and company (but mostly Vince) down an exceedingly dark path, one far more substantial than the "obstacles" the series' writers have placed in front of these characters in seasons past.

Because let's face it: although a large part of this show's appeal has always been the opportunity for viewers to live vicariously through the gang, the writers have often sacrificed compelling drama and accepted a sort of dramatic complacency in their efforts to milk the audience's celebrity fantasies. For that reason, Vince's descent into drug and alcohol abuse was long overdue, and is far more intriguing than the character starring in a few unsuccessful movies.

What makes Vince's recent problems even more fascinating to watch is the rather ingenious inclusion of a now-sober Billy Walsh into this storyline. There' a brilliant irony to the way Walsh is playing the responsible, worried observer to Vince's downward spiral, and it's remarkable to see Rhys Coiro retain Billy Walsh's essence and personality even without his old degenerate ways. My two favorite moments of the episode came courtesy of some understated yet incredibly effective acting by Coiro – the first when he witnessed Vince blowing lines of cocaine, and the second when he implored Eric to call Vince after the irate friend/manager first heard word of the disastrous meeting with Randall Wallace.

And that's not even mentioning the Walsh/Drama/Eric angle to this arc. Vince and Walsh's careers are linked for obvious reasons, so I love the idea of Walsh's second chance crossing paths with Vince's descending career – especially with Eric and Drama helping the down-on-his-luck director turn things around. Besides the wonderful irony of this new dynamic, I also look forward to Drama accepting his humiliating new job once the studio inevitably decides they like Walsh's pitch.

Ari's recent hardships also took a few exciting turns this week, with the episode briefly teasing that Ari would get away from the whole Lizzie/Amanda alliance unscathed. I'm not going to lie: after Ari and Lizzie hugged and made up, I immediately assumed the show was falling back into its old bad habit of only ever temporarily challenging its characters. Not that I think Ari's situation will actually change much for the worse when this storyline is through, but the longer we see these characters – and particularly Ari and Vince – sweat, the better. I wish the series' masterminds would keep that rule of thumb in mind more often.

Turtle's story continues to be the weak link of the season. I haven't bought for a minute the chemistry between Jerry Ferrara and Dania Ramirez (and still harbor resentment towards Ramirez over her cringe-inducing turn on Heroes), nor did I care much about Turtle's struggle to secure more cases of tequila for a Hollywood liquor store. This plotline only works as a catalyst for Vince's substance abuse, and unless it's given more depth soon – like, say, the tequila's secret illegal ingredient that I've suspected all along coming to light, or maybe a possible criminal connection behind Turtle's business partner – it will continue to be the season's weak link going forward.

But that's a rather small complaint about an episode that accomplished a lot by boldly shaking off the series' complacent tendencies and finally throwing Ari and Vince to the wolves. If they continue to push further down this bumpy road, Season 7 just might turn out to be a winner in the end. A few more laughs couldn't hurt, though.